Oconee school chief's ouster questioned

BOE's mixed messages raise parents' suspicions

Posted: Sunday, October 19, 2008

By Adam Thompson

Oconee County Board of Education members won't elaborate on what led them last school year to force a successful superintendent into early retirement, citing a law that allows them to handle personnel matters privately.

Parents in the high-performing school district were left scratching their heads last week when they learned that board members actually asked former schools chief Tom Dohrmann to step down, despite their statements at the time, and that Dohrmann still is on the system payroll - five months after he announced his retirement for personal and family reasons.

Holly Williams, a new member of the Oconee County Primary School council, said she and other parents are upset and called the board's lack of answers "disturbing."

"I don't question for a moment that they have our students' best interests as their ultimate goal, but they are elected officials who ultimately report to us, the constituents and parents of Oconee County," Williams said.

"For them to think we don't deserve more explanation regarding this 'personnel matter' means either they don't care what we think, or don't realize they're supposed to care what we think. I'm uncomfortable with either one."

Last week, after questioning from the Athens Banner-Herald, officials acknowledged that school board members came to Dohrmann in May, just a few weeks after renewing the superintendent's contract for three years, and asked him to retire.

School board Chairman-elect David Weeks, in an interview Monday, called it a "forced retirement" for "philosophical reasons." He declined to say what those reasons were.

Early resignations and contract buyouts are common because of the often-tenuous relationship between superintendents and school boards, but Oconee officials originally said Dohrmann's retirement was entirely his decision.

Oconee taxpayers now are funding salaries for two superintendents in the middle of a tightening budget crisis, despite the fact that board members had appeared pleased with Dohrmann's leadership.

Since Dohrmann left the school district, school board members and candidates have been through a primary election.

Only Weeks and Mack Guest are seeking re-election to the board. Weeks went unchallenged, while Guest won his primary easily and has no general election challenger.

Two of the board's other three spots also were decided in the Republican primary, but one race still remains to be decided in November.

Republican Tom Breedlove and Democrat Rich Clark said last week they understood why people were upset to learn about Dohrmann's departure.

Clark said board members should tell residents why they released the former superintendent.

"Clearly there was a difference between statements and the truth," he said. "Getting all of that out will probably lay to rest all the speculation going on right now."

Whatever the differences were between Dohrmann and the board, the story probably is more boring than it seems, Clark said.

"I think it's probably a dull story, and it will go away, but it will leave that residue of cynicism with people," he said.

Breedlove said he doesn't know much about Dohrmann's retirement, other than what he's read, but his impression is that board members and Dohrmann reached the decision mutually and didn't try to hide anything.

"It's not a huge thing to me," he said. "I'm certainly going to be more focused on moving ahead than dealing with something that's already been settled, in my opinion."

But, he said, elected officials should strive to be as open as possible,

"You've got nothing to gain by trying to hide anything," he said. "As long as it is not a private and personal matter, or a matter that is going to infringe on somebody else's rights, then I think it's open-book, open-door."

Dohrmann said last week he planned on retiring after this school year anyway and agreed to step down June 30 because he wanted to see his family more and was having minor health problems.

But Dohrmann, who remains friendly with board members, said he doesn't know, either, why they sought his resignation.

"They just offered, 'Well, how would you like to retire - we'll do this for you,'" he said. "I asked them why and they didn't really get into it. But I said, 'If that's what you want' - they're the boss, the board's the boss. And I'm a team player."

The two sides worked out an agreement to pay Dohrmann his contracted salary through March 2009, when he will retire officially.

That behind-the-scenes deal was not publicized, and instead, Dohrmann and board members cited only personal and health reasons for his retirement.

Following a Banner-Herald story Wednesday, the school board declined to comment further.

Board members and Dohrmann signed the settlement agreement May 12, the day the board voted at a meeting to accept Dohrmann's retirement among a list of personnel recommendations.

Dohrmann announced his retirement to administrators the following day, and the school system soon announced the decision in a news release. Board members said then that Dohrmann's retirement, coming at that time, was a surprise.